Student Experience and Post-Graduate Success

The Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support strives to provide an intentional, holistic and integrated student experience from acceptance to post-graduate success. Rooted in support and advocacy for all students, the division will provide opportunities for students to cultivate a sense of belonging, create engagement experiences, develop career readiness, foster lifelong learning and success and provide meaningful dialogue and reflection.     

• The division is committed to providing an environment for all students to seek support and resources to reach academic, personal and professional success.  
• Our practice is grounded in providing an exceptional care through high-quality, unified, student-centered resources.   

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• Goal 1 – Provide comprehensive services and intentional programming to support students throughout their entire USC experience.  
• Goal 2 – Cultivate a sense of belonging that welcomes dialogue, promotes a strong sense of connection to the Carolina and Columbia community and provides meaningful reflection.  
• Goal 3 – Create meaningful experiences that engage students and enhance student learning. 
• Goal 4 – Increase students’ career readiness by enhancing knowledge, skills and abilities to prepare for post-graduate success.   
• Goal 5 – Foster lifelong learning that advances students’ academic, personal and professional success.  

Research, Scholarship and Community Impact

Through deliberate collaboration and utilization of evidence-based decision making, the Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support is committed to the development of innovative initiatives/programs and an elevated collegiate experience that intentionally connects students, staff, and faculty to the community — the city of Columbia, state of South Carolina and beyond.  

•  The division is committed to providing opportunities for staff to conduct research and advance knowledge and skills through leadership and engagement in higher education and student affairs within the university and at the regional and national level.  
•  Our practice is grounded in developing scholar-practitioners who connect research to practice and practice to research.  

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•  Goal 1 – Develop and invest in division scholar-practitioners to encourage active engagement in the field.
•  Goal 2 – Increase community relationships to create meaningful interactions and experiences. 
•  Goal 3 – Develop partnerships to create additional funding and revenue streams to support new initiatives and projects that support the work of the division and ultimately enhance the student experience.

 

Operational Excellence

The Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support must be agile and adequately equipped to face the ever-changing needs of our students and to meet our mission to build a superior student experience that empowers students to reach their academic, personal and professional goals.  

• The division is committed to developing and maintaining systems of operation that align with an exceptional end-user experience.  
• Our practice is grounded in a student-centered approach that removes barriers, reduces duplication and increases efficiency. 

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• Goal 1 – Identify and remove barriers created by spaces and places that impede a high-quality experience.
• Goal 2 – Improve systems and structures to reduce duplication of services and increase efficiency while maintaining a student-centered organization.
• Goal 3 – Create a unified, comprehensive and effective communication strategy that aligns our division to serve stakeholders.
•  Goal 4 – Attract, hire, develop, retain and leverage the immense talent of a diverse workforce to meet the ever-changing needs of students.
• Goal 5 – Assess, analyze and evaluate our standard practice to evolve our operations.